Rosenstein: Comey Routinely 'Usurped' the DOJ

A day after addressing the Senate, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein met with the members of the House of Representatives Friday to brief them on the firing of FBI Director James Comey. In his remarks, Rosenstein shared that he was dismayed by Comey's press conference from last July in which he "usurped" the Department of Justice and revealed findings from the investigation into Hillary Clinton's email server. He was just as frustrated when Comey again circumvented the DOJ by sending a letter to Congress 11 days before the 2016 election revealing that he was reopening the investigation.

In their letters to President Trump this month requesting Comey's dismissal, Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions indicated that the FBI and DOJ had lost confidence in the FBI director.

NBC has released a full transcript of Rosenstein's remarks to House members.

The search for Comey's replacement is nearly over, according to President Trump. Before leaving for his overseas trip to Saudia Arabia Friday, Trump acknowledged that former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman is the leading candidate.